The regional library program was first developed
in Tennessee because of the large population, the distances between
the cities, and
the lack of public library service across the state. The program
was
first authorized by state legislature in 1936 but was not funded
until 1940,
when the Tennessee Valley Authority contracted with Lawson McGhee
Library in
Knoxville to provide service to four counties in East Tennessee.

During 1946, the counties of Franklin, Lawrence,
Marshall and Warren formed a region known as the Middle Tennessee
State College
Region. In 1947, three counties were added to the region - Coffee,
Rutherford, and Wilson. These were followed by Bedford County
in 1949,
Maury County in 1951. and Moore County in 1953.

In July 1954, Lawrence, Marshall
and Maury counties were transferred to a new region at Columbia
called the Blue Grass Region. At the same time three other counties were transferred
from
the Austin Peay Region into the newly formed region. These counties
were
Hickman, Lewis and Perry.

In October 1955, Giles County
came into the Blue Grass Region with Wayne County joining in 1956.
Williamson County, the last county in the state to join the regional
system,
joined Blue Grass in 1968. From 1968 to 2012, the region was made
up of nine counties - Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall,
Maury, Perry,
Wayne and Williamson. In July 2012, the regional library system was reorganized. The Blue Grass Region become the Buffalo Region and Lincoln County joined the new region.

The Blue Grass Region was set up
by Miss Mary Nelson Bates of the Tennessee State Library and Archives,
who acted
as director until the arrival of Miss Mary Melton in October 1954.
Since
then the region has seen a succession of regional directors. The
current
regional director is Marion Bryant. From its founding in 1955 until 1999 the region was governed by a board appointed by the county commissions of the member counties. On July 1, 1999, the region became part of the State of Tennessee Department of State and the Board moved into an advisory role.

The Buffalo River Region contracts
each
year with the ten member counties to coordinate local library services in the region and to provide
professional advice and assistance to the member libraries. The region also supplies
a
large collection of materials to supplement those owned by the
local libraries
and provides assistance with technology issues and planning.

As the largest of the twelve
multi-county regions, the Buffalo River Region's service area covers
5,393 square
miles and has a population of approximately 461,257. The regional
library
currently services 27 member libraries.